Trussed walking-beam.



G. E. SMITH.

vTRUSSED WALKING BEAM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1909 Patented May 16, 1911.

& W1) 1 I x attend l this character having an adjustable strut I th accompanying drawing, Figure l is enonen n. sMIrrIi, orcoALINeA; CALIFORNIA.

'r'rwssnn WALKING-BEAM.

Specification of Lette rs Patent. P t it d 1u 16, 19 1 Application filed August 16, 1909. Serial No, 513,060.

-To fall whom itmay concern." Be itk'n'ownthat IfGEonen EJSMITH, a

citizen of. the-United States,,re'siding at Coalinga, 'in the county of fFre'sn'o and State of 5- californiayhave. invented a new and useful Trussed \Valking-Beannof which the following is aspecification. v

My invention rel tes to trussedwalking beamsnsed for drilling oilor gas wells; and has for an object to-strengthenthe beam by a truss which will permit of a certain amount of resiliency in the beam so as to prevent the Strain.

A further ob'ject istop'rovide a device of which holds the truss at any desired tension. vA still further object is to provide a device of. this character having anchor plates .f'or holding the terminals of the truss.- i 'It is customary in the drilling of oil and gas Wells to'use a walking beam'fo'r operat-I I ing the drill and since the heavy drills very 1 joften jam in "the hole, the walking beam is '25 -cont inually beingsubjected to great'and sudden strains. A-certain amount of resiliency to meet the, strain is imperative in the walking beam, but since the strain is lateral as well. asvertica-l, the beam must be so trussed that the resiliencywill be restrictedto a like degree both against a too freelateral move- 'ment as 'well'as' a too free vertical movement. To meet these requirements-my present' invention employs an endless cable secured to'the opposite ends of the beam and held under tension intermediate the ends by an adjustable supporting standard. This feature of. the endless cable being at no point positively held permits of the required amount of resiliency" "of the walking beam, whileatit-he same time restricts a too free lateral orvertical resiliency of the-same.

1 With the above advantages and other objec'ts in view which'will appear as the-na- 4 5 tureof the invention is better understood,

-my invention embraces the structure illus-. trated in theaccompanying draw ng, n

"which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the views shown.

' a perspective view of a walking beam-constrncted 1n accordance with my invention. Fig. 2- is a plan mew of the same. Fig.- 8 1s I an enlarged detail view of the .adjustable 5 tand rd with part show in section. Fig.-

same from snapping of? under abnormal 4 is a-se'ctional detail viewof one otthe anchor pl'ates' Fig.5 is a detail perspective view of. the adjusting nut.

Referring nowto the; drawings for a more detailed description of my inventiomil designates'thc beam which carries onits bottom face a shaft'box 2 throughwhich a fulcrum,

slia-ftniay be engaged in the usual manner. Upon each end of the beam is-an anchor plate 7 which terminates'at .oneend in a down-turnedextension 8 passing over the end ofthe beam, and at the other end in an upstanding hook 9 for engagementwith the truss cable. The anchor plates 7 are forked at their outer ends at 10 and provided with =bearingslijin which the connecting pins 12 of the rods'13 are journaled. Either of .the rods may be used as the actuating red when the other will become the power rod for u-mpi'ng the drill. The anchor plates have .perforatm'l -ears H0 at their sides by which they are secured to the beam by U- slu1ped \;'okes1i which pass entirely around the beam, thus preventing it from being split by any undue istrain.-v

Positioned on the midway between the anchor plates'iis an adjustable-strut comprising a bearing post 1.} and a stem 16 mounted forrotation in the bearing post. Integral with the bearing post is a foot plate 11' having openings 18 through which screws 19 may be inserted for securing the bearing post to the beam. Formed adjacent one end of the'stem i6 is an' enlargement 20 having wrench faces 21 by means of which the stem may be rotated in the bear- I ing post. The bottom. face 22 of the enlargementbears upon the top of the bearing post so that the weight of the stem; is equally dis- I tributed over the top surface of the bearingthreads 27 for. engagement with an adjust ingnut 28 which is the same inlength as the width of the beam and ,fiS designed to "the usual manner.

'formdi'tmnsirseli .tOP face of the adtop face of the-beam- -t-rave1 on the threaded part of the sternum Recesses .29 and '3 are 1 large'ment 20' is provided with screw,

justing nut and are sufiicient in size toloosely engage a truss cable 31, which latter has its, terminals spliced together to form an endless cable. In securing the cable in operative position it is twisted so that terminal loops 32 and an intermediate loop 33 are formed, the terminal loops being inserted in the anchor plate hooks and the intermediate loop being engaged in the recesses of the adjusting nut, as shown. It is preferable to twist the truss cable, as above described in order to prevent the accidental disengagement of the adjusting nut from the truss cable.' 7

By adjusting the nut 28 adjacent the bottom portion of the standard, the terminals of the cable may be extended so that the cable may be adjusted to various lengths of walking beams. By rotating the stem 16 in the bearing post the nut will be made to "travel upward thereon and operate to draw the truss cable to any desired degree of tension.

It is evident that as the truss cable is not positively held at any point the adjusting nut will have a partial rotary movement on the stem when the beam is subjected to lateral strain, the advantage of this construction being to permit of a sufficient amount of resiliency of the parts to prevent the snapping off of the beam, the tension under which the truss is) held preventing any buckling or too free lateral movement of the beam under abnormal strain.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it is thought that the construction and operation of my invention will be easily understood without a more extended explanation, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be made withits outer extremities and havin out sacrificing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1. The combination with a walking-beam, a cable loop constituting a truss, and a strut between the centers of the beam and truss,

of anchor "plates at the ends ofthe beam,

each lying thereon and having a hook at its the exten on and hook, and a Ushaped yoke embracing the beam and having its extremities engaging said ears.

2. The combination with a walking-beam, anchor plates lying upon its ends and over hooks, means for holding said plates in p ace, and an endless cable loop enga ing said hooks and constituting a truss; o a strut at substantially the center of the beam and comprising a tubular post mounted thereon, a stein having its lower end journaled in said post and an an ular enlargement bearing on the upper en of the post, the stem having a groove below the enlargement and threads above it, a set screw through the post with its tip en aging said groove, and a nut engaging said threads and having spaced recesses receiving the cable.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. SMITH.

Witnesses:

J .-A. FLUETSCH, D. R. TRUMBLE.

beam rod, lateral perforated ears between 

